Apologies

‘What a relief to have nothing to say, the right to say nothing, because only then is there a chance of framing the rare, or ever rarer, the thing that might be worth saying.’ - Gilles Deleuze, Negotiations

Don’t encourage an apology if the client doesn’t really mean it.

Nothing good ever comes of apologies.

It's time to say you're sorry.

* “As a federal prosecutor for 19 years… I know better.” Leslie Caldwell, who oversees the Justice Department’s criminal division, sent a letter of apology to federal prosecutors across the country for remarks made at a Federalist Society event where she intimated that many of them don’t understand rules for white-collar criminal cases. [WSJ Law Blog]

* It seems that D.C.-based Crowell & Moring and New York-based Herrick Feinstein are hoping to bump into each other under the mistletoe this year, because they’re reportedly in close merger talks. A combination would create a firm with about 570 lawyers and $478 million in gross revenue. We’ll have more on this later. [Am Law Daily; Real Deal]

* Biglaw behemoth Dentons is politely bowing out of the competition when it comes to a takeover of the European and Middle Eastern arm of King & Wood Mallesons. With Dentons out of the picture, it’s unlikely that a single firm will rescue the entirety of the branch, but numerous firms are interested in picking apart bits and pieces. [Legal Week]

* Calling their behavior “uncivil,” Judge Steven O’Neill was forced to scold lawyers on both sides during a dramatic shouting match that erupted at Bill Cosby’s sexual assault trial after the defense team insisted that the comedian’s accusers ought to be named in public documents, saying they’re “witnesses in a trial, not children.” [USA Today]

* Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge Victoria Brennan, who was accused of using a metal pipe to smash a man’s windshield this summer (but was never formally charged), is going to step down from her position on the bench. Her last day will be December 31, and per her resignation letter, she is “looking forward to the future.” [Miami Herald]

As a lawyer -- and particularly, for in-house lawyers -- how can we use apologies?

At least the apology seems sincere.

Oh joy, there is an update in the case of the incredibly rude Harvard Law student.

This apology just doesn't cut it.

An apology for a mistake may favorably impact the outcome of any grievance or malpractice claim, as well as your reputation going forward.

* Southern California Institute of Law is suing the state bar over requirements schools must maintain a 40 percent bar passage rate over 5 years. [Los Angeles Times]

* Have dreams of running away from the practice of law into the welcoming embrace of academia? Not so fast. The rate of new law professor jobs has dropped 55 percent. [National Law Journal]

* FBI agents cannot be sued for monetary damages in their personal capacity for keeping people on the “No Fly List” as a coercive measure in anti-terrorism investigations, says SDNY Judge Ronnie Abrams. [New York Law Journal]

* Find out who are the scariest federal prosecutors according to Steptoe & Johnson partner Reid Weingarten. [Litigation Daily]

* You should still say “sorry” even when you’re at work. [Corporate Counsel]

* A fun way to mix college football fandom with your attorney advertising. [ABA Journal]

* Carey Gabay, a lawyer for Empire State Development Corp., and who formerly held positions as assistant counsel to Governor Andrew Cuomo and at Jones Day and at Schulte Roth & Zabel, was shot in the head yesterday before the West Indian American Day Parade in Brooklyn. He is in critical condition. [New York Post]

* You cannot make this stuff up. The curious case of Rachel Dolezal, the former leader of the NAACP Spokane, Washington branch who resigned in disgrace after her parents made the revelation that Dolezal was white, gets weirder. The Smoking Gun has unearthed a lawsuit Dolezal filed (then known as Rachel Moore) against Howard University for, inter alia, racial discrimination. Yup, Dolezal claimed she just couldn’t make it as a white women.  [The Smoking Gun]

* Fresh off of the tragedy of Kalief Browder, the man who was held in Rikers for three years awaiting trial for stealing a backpack before the charges were dismissed, comes the case of Carlos Montero. Montero, arrested as a teenager, has been in Rikers for SEVEN YEARS waiting for his day in court. [New York Post]

* I mean, they’ve only worked together for 21 years and 10 months. Justice Antonin Scalia apologized from the bench yesterday after calling Justice Ginsburg Justice Goldberg. The apology seemed sincere, but Scalia played it cool with a quip about Justice Arthur Goldberg. [Supreme Court Brief]

* The Colorado Supreme Court ruled yesterday that an employer can fire an employee for medical marijuana use, legal under state law, since the use is still illegal under federal statutes. [Huffington Post]

* If your company finds themselves the victim of trade secret theft, is there an alternative to costly civil litigation? There just might be if you get the police involved. [Corporate Counsel]

Have you ever messed something up for a client? Ever make a mistake that was yours and yours alone, that caused your client a problem and you and your firm some embarrassment? If you haven’t, then you haven’t been practicing very long. Because you can’t practice for a long time without making some mistakes. It’s […]